Redemption
by skycloud86
Summary: After Day Eight, someone from the past has changed their ways, but someone else is threatening to expose them. AU story set sometime in 2020.
1. A Second Chance

_**A/N – Story is set after Day Eight (so sometimes around 2020) and is AU in that certain events in earlier seasons did not occur. Times given are local to the area where the scene is taking place.**_

**2.35pm, CTU New York**

"You're sure of this?," Alex asked as he walked slowly down a corridor of CTU. He was on the phone to someone who had helped CTU in the past, but now Alex wasn't sure how helpful this information was. In fact, he was certain that it was going to cause a lot of trouble and possibly bloodshed.

"I'm sure, Agent Myers. I've given you the address," the informant replied, his voice hoarse and strongly accented, before abruptly ending the call. Stopping where he stood, Alex tried hard to understand what he had just been told.

**11.35am, Jack's house, Los Angeles**

Now retired and looking forward to the many days ahead where he would be spending time with his family and not chasing terrorists, Jack was happier than he had been in years, and it was a strange feeling for him. He still missed Teri, and he thought of her every day, but unlike the bitter memories tinged with regret that he had recalled in the years after her death, the memories were good. He had managed to block out most of Teri's last day from his memory, and was not intending to remember it any time soon. Standing near the window, he looked out and saw the massive garden that accompanied the large house he had bought thanks to the fact that his bank account had gradually built up over the years. He imagined Teri and any other future grandchildren playing in the garden, enjoying the sunshine and the smell of the flowers that he had planted. As it was a weekday, Teri was in the first grade of school now, and both Kim and Stephen had jobs, so he made the most of the weekends, evenings and school holidays.

**2.40pm, CTU New York**

As Alex approached the office of Director Brian Hastings, he wondered if getting CTU involved was the right way to approach the situation he now found himself in. He had the address, and he was sure that as the address had turned out to be a quiet residential home in the New York suburbs, that it wouldn't require numerous agents to get involved. Knocking on the glass door a couple of times, before waiting for Hastings to finish the phone call he was in the middle of, Alex decided that he would have to compromise. As Hastings finished, he gestured to Alex to enter.

"Mr Hastings, I've received some information that I think should be kept to as few people as possible," Alex spoke as he stood close to the desk where Hastings was sat.

"And your reason for that is? What is this information?," Hastings asked. He knew that Alex was an experienced CTU agent, and therefore any opinion he had on intelligence was to taken at least somewhat seriously.

"The information is regarding the whereabouts of my sister, Mr Hastings, Nina Myers," Alex replied, and Hastings looked at him in surprise. Like many agents within CTU, Hastings knew who Nina was, but unlike most CTU agents, he didn't know of Nina's escape from North Africa several years before.

"You don't want Jack Bauer to find out," Hastings spoke, and Alex nodded. The last thing that Jack needed right now was to be dragged out of his happy retirement for Nina.

"It sounds like she isn't involved in terrorism anymore, Mr Hastings. The address where she is currently living is a quiet house in the suburbs. All I am asking is that you give me the chance to investigate this intel without it getting out," Alex informed him.

"Then that's what will happen. We'll keep this between us for now," Hastings replied.

**11.45am, Jack's house, Los Angeles**

Taking a drink from a cup of coffee, Jack was reading the newspaper, although he found it hard not to think of CTU with all of the stories of war and violence that seemed to be glorified in the papers nowadays. Turning to the sports pages, a part that he didn't usually pay much attention to, he remembered the time back when he was a little boy, and he and his brother were playing baseball. He had been quite good at the game, and was usually the first to be picked whenever he and his friends played. One of the stories was about the Chicago Cubs, who were the current national champions, and Jack decided not to read the paper any longer.

**3.00pm, Nina's house, Orange County, New York**

Leaning against his car, which was parked out of sight of Nina's house, Alex could just see the building. It was a fairly large and modern home, with large windows and a clean appearance. The garden was filled with flowers, and a solitary oak tree stood in the garden close to the front door. In the driveway was a black Volkswagen Jetta, with room for one more car at least. Standing up, he began to walk closer to the house, hoping that his presence in the quiet street would not be noticed by anyone inside, and as he walked up the path to the door, he expected it to open before he reached it. Hesitantly, he knocked on the door twice, and when the door was opened, it seemed to take years for the person to appear. When she did, however, Alex recognised her immediately. With widened eyes, Nina saw her brother for the first time in years.

"Hello, Nina," Alex spoke, and Nina was unsure of what was going to happen. Looking behind him anxiously, as if she expected Jack to appear out of nowhere and shoot her dead, the serious atmosphere was broken when a small child appeared at Nina's side. The little boy, who looked no older than two or three, stared up at Alex with curiosity.

"Are you here as a CTU agent, or as my brother?," Nina asked, her weary eyes searching Alex's face.

"Both, Nina, but right now I don't know which one I should be," Alex replied, and Nina had returned to scanning the area for anyone else, before deciding that he was alone.

"We shouldn't be standing here talking, Alex, come inside," Nina spoke, and as Alex entered the house, a whole list of questions he had for his sister appeared in his mind. As the pair went inside, Alex saw a photograph of a family hung on the wall near the door. It showed Nina and a man with three children of various ages, although the young boy who was in the house with Nina wasn't on there, which meant it was at least a few years old. Nina turned around and saw him looking at the picture.

"I have four children, Alex. The oldest boy is called Joseph, the two girls are called Sarah and Nina, and the youngest one is called Arlen, after his father," Nina informed him. The man in the photograph, Arlen Snr, looked slightly older than Nina, with balding grey hair, bright blue eyes and a grey-brown thinnish beard. Joseph looked like a typical teenager, with messy dark brown hair, blue eyes and looked to be taller than his father. Sarah and Nina seemed to be twins of about 10 or 11 years of age, both with medium brown hair, blue eyes and with identical features. Walking into the living room, Alex and Nina sat down close to each other.

"How long have you been back in the States, Nina?," Alex asked. It wasn't one of the more interesting questions he had for his sister, but he thought it would be best to start off.

"A few months after I escaped from North Africa, I managed to sneak back into the country. Arlen doesn't know about my past, and he's always known me as Nina Clarke. When we got married fifteen years ago, I took his surname, Pavich. He's a doctor in New York, and I work part-time as a German teacher at my son Joseph's school," Nina replied.

"You have no links to terrorism any more?," Alex asked, his voice sounding more hopeful than he had wanted it to. It would already be hard enough to decide what to do, but if she had finally finished her life of violence, it would make it easier to tell CTU that the intel was wrong, and the informant mistaken.

"No. I know my life now is not as exciting as a life of a terrorist, but I don't miss it, Alex. I made too many mistakes, and now I spend my life always looking out for people who want me dead. My family think I'm just paranoid, but then again, my family doesn't know what I've done," Nina spoke, and Alex made a decision in his head. There was no way that he could or would take this any further.

"There's only a few people who know that you're in the United States, Nina, and none of them is Jack. He's never going to find out either, because both of you are happy, both of you have families," Alex spoke, and Nina's face lit up. A broad smile grew on her face, and she looked like she was truly grateful, before a look of curiosity appeared.

"Family? You mean more than just Kim?," Nina asked. She knew almost nothing about Jack after her escape from North Africa, and had no idea of what he had done or what had happened to him since. She had heard of the Senate hearing regarding CTU, however, and was sure that Jack would have been involved in some way.

"Kim's married, she has a daughter, Teri. Jack's retired now, and they all live in Los Angeles. I live in New York, and work for CTU there," Alex informed her, and Nina wondered if he ever still felt the need to avenge his wife's death. Deciding not to ask Alex, she moved on.

"Teri's death was something I never wanted to happen. She was the first civilian that I ever killed, and even though I could murder someone and never even regret it for a second, she was different," Nina replied, her eyes watering up. Although she had maintained an air of indifference around Jack, she knew that he would never believe that she truly was sorry. His words, on the plane on the day of the nuke, when he had told her of the Sunday before she killed Teri, she still remembered that little monologue – every word, every sigh that Jack took, even his face as he poured out his feelings. It wasn't as if she couldn't understand why he wanted her dead, or even just to suffer, and that just made it worse.

**12.30pm, Los Angeles**

Jack was now walking down the road where he lived, enjoying the quiet serenity of the suburb. He had seen the very opposite throughout his life – in the dingy hideouts of terrorists, in the poverty stricken towns and cities of Sangala, in dark alleyways littered with discarded needles and used condoms. The clean, tidy look of this part of Los Angeles looked almost fake, as plastic as the people who lived there, but Jack had decided that he preferred this façade of pleasantness, because he and his family weren't hiding some dysfunction, they truly were happy. They had arguments and problems just like any other family, but after a lifetime of working at and for CTU, it was Jack's idea of perfection. Walking into the café where he was meeting Kim for lunch, he instinctively scanned the place, and mentally told himself that he had no need to. Even so, he took his normal seat, in the corner close to the door with noone behind him. Sighing as he looked at the menu, he wondered if the CTU training could be somehow unlearned. Only then would he be able to let go.

"Hi, Dad," Kim said as she walked towards where he was sat. Kissing him on the cheek before sitting down, she was glad to have a break from her job. Her busy career meant that she truly appreciated lunchtimes, especially as it gave her a chance to talk to her father.

"Hi, sweetheart. How's work been today?," Jack asked, a thin smile on his lips as he looked at his daughter. Still only in her early thirties, Kim was now a much more mature and responsible person. Jack knew that Teri would be so proud of her daughter.

"I've gotten so much done today, Dad, I think I deserve a promotion! How have you been today?," Kim asked, genuinely interested in her father. She knew that she had been so close to losing him so many times, and was determined to make the most of the time he had left. Although Jack had almost fully recovered from the CJD, he was still weaker than he had been, and he was now in his early fifties. The doctors had told him that he could expect another couple of decades of life, but only if he was careful with his health.

"I've been fine. I'm thinking of getting a job, Kim, I have all of this time to myself and I don't know what to do with it," Jack replied. He was certain that any job he would get was to be nothing like anything he had done before.

"I think you should, Dad," Kim spoke.

**3.45pm, CTU New York**

Alex had returned to CTU and had decided to protect Nina from CTU. He knew that she had done some terrible things, but he also knew that she was now someone's partner and the mother of four children, and if noone told Jack about her, then neither of their now peaceful lives had to be destroyed. Walking towards Hastings, who was busy talking to Cole Ortiz, who was Head of Field Ops and very much a young version of Jack, he waited for Cole to leave before talking to the director.

"I've been and had a look around the building, but it seems to be a case of mistaken identity. A Nina does live there, and she does look very much like my sister, but it's not her. She's a German teacher at a high school in Orange County," Alex informed Hastings, who was listening intently, and Alex could only hope that he would accept this explanation. At worst he would face being suspended or maybe fired, but that was nothing compared to what Nina and her family would go through if the truth were to be revealed.

"Fair enough. I'm glad that it was resolved quietly, Alex," Hastings replied, seemingly believing Alex. As Hastings walked away towards his office, someone called Alex's cell, and he went into a quieter part of the building to answer it.

"That didn't look much like I expected it to, Alex," the voice on the other end croaked, and Alex recognised the sound of his informant's voice.

"What were you expecting to see, an arrest? I went to the house, and the woman you thought was Nina, wasn't. I can't arrest her for having the same first name and similar features to a terrorist," Alex replied, and the informant wheezed a smoky laugh.

"Are you seriously going to protect her, Alex? She's a mass murderer, a terrorist, someone who should be behind bars. I hope you'll be reconsidering your actions, Alex," the informant spoke, before hanging up. Putting his cell back in his pocket, Alex could only wonder just how far the informant was willing to go to put Nina back in prison. Whoever he was, and Alex had never been given a name, he certainly had something against Nina.


	2. Awake In The City That Never Sleeps

_**Later that night....**_

**1.15am, Alex's apartment, New York**

Alex had been asleep for a hour or so, before a bang startled him awake. Looking around his dark bedroom, he listened carefully for any sign that the bang came from inside his home. Hearing nothing more, he sighed before lying back down and closing his eyes. He had almost gone back to sleep when he heard the click of a gun, and he opened his eyes quickly.

"Get up," Jack demanded gruffly, his gun pointed straight at Alex's head. Anxious, Alex could only come to one conclusion – his informant had contacted Jack. Slowly moving out of bed, Alex stood near it with his hands in the air slightly.

"What is this about?," Alex asked, hoping rather foolishly that it wasn't about Nina, and Jack moved forwards quickly, before pushing him into the wall, his forearm at Alex's neck.

"You know what this is about, Alex. You know where Nina is!," Jack yelled, and Alex wondered why the informant didn't just give Jack the address, until he realised that Jack wanted him to lure Nina into a trap.

"OK, I do, but there's a reason why I'm not going to do anything about it. She has a family, and so do you," Alex replied, struggling to breathe. He looked at Jack, who seemed amazed at the idea of Nina being a parent.

"I don't care," Jack replied angrily, before moving away to turn on the bedroom light, leaving Alex to catch his breath. Grabbing some clothes that had been left near the bed, Jack threw them at Alex.

"Get dressed, you're going to help me get to Nina," Jack told him, before searching around. Finding Alex's gun, he removed the magazine and left the room. Alex sat down at the edge of the bed and wondered what he could do. He couldn't contact Nina, as his cell was in another room, and he couldn't get out via the fire escape as it would make too much noise, plus it wouldn't take Jack long to get to the other end of the escape. Deciding that he had no choice but to comply, he sighed. This was the last thing he wanted to happen, and he knew that no matter what, he was going to find the informant. Putting the shorts and t-shirt he used as pyjamas on the bed, he quickly put on the clothes that Jack had thrown at him, as well as a pair of sneakers that were under the bed. Opening the door of his bedroom, he saw no sign of Jack, and decided to slowly make his way towards the front door, which Jack had kicked in. He had made it to the door, and was looking around for his car keys, when he saw Jack come out of the bathroom.

"We'll take your car," Jack informed him as he walked past Alex and out of the apartment. Following him after grabbing his car keys from a small table near the door, Alex was able to close the door, but wondered how useful it was closed when there was a huge hole in the middle of it.

**10.25pm, Kim's house, Los Angeles**

Kim was worried. She hadn't seen her father for hours, and the last time she had seen him, he had been on the phone to someone. The conversation had been strange and hard to follow, but somehow he had grown progressively angrier as the call went on, and as he finished the call, he had abruptly left the room. Kim had followed quickly behind, trying to find out what the problem was, but Jack had told her nothing. His cell was off, and noone she knew in Los Angeles had seen him. Deciding that Chloe could find out something, Kim picked up the phone.

"What? It's so late at night!," a tired Chloe mumbled into the phone, and Kim realised that New York was a few hours ahead. Deciding that Chloe would want to help find her father, she quickly apologised.

"Chloe, I haven't been able to find my dad for hours. He's angry about something, and I can't get in touch with him," Kim told her. Puzzled, Chloe walked over to her laptop and logged in.

"I have remote access to the CTU database from my house," Chloe explained, knowing that she would have a much better chance of finding Jack with the level of technology she could use via the CTU server.

"The last time I saw him was at around 5pm Los Angeles time this evening at my house," Kim informed her, and Chloe got to work.

**1.30am, New York**

Jack was staring straight ahead as Alex drove through the deserted streets of New York, and he could only wonder what Jack was thinking. He was trying to take the longest route he could without making Jack suspicious, and he was looking for the first chance he could take to get away from Jack.

"Jack, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, but that informant had no right to do this to you. Look how angry you are, Jack," Alex spoke.

"This will only take a few minutes, then we can all return to normal," Jack replied, and Alex realised that Jack was not going to accept Nina being alive much longer.

"Jack, she's got children! You're not seriously going to murder their mother right in front of them, are you?," Alex asked, his voice quiet and horrified.

"She didn't care when she killed my wife in the same building where my daughter was," Jack replied. Alex couldn't believe what he was hearing, and he wondered what exactly he might have to do to keep Jack away from Nina and her family.

**10.35pm, Kim's house, Los Angeles**

Chloe had found something, and now Kim was waiting anxiously for news of her father. She had not seen him this angry for years, and knew that whatever was causing this fury had to be something big.

"Kim, I've found him I think," Chloe replied, and as she gazed at the monitor, she wondered what Jack was up to.

"Chloe, what is it?," Kim replied, hoping that Chloe wasn't building up the courage to tell her something had happened to her father.

"He's here, Kim. In New York, arrived from LAX about a hour ago," Chloe informed her, and Kim was confused. Jack had lived in New York for a while when he was recovering from his illness, but there was nothing there that would get Jack so angry that he would suddenly rush back there, at least nothing that she knew of.

"Can you find out where he went?," Kim said.

**1.40am, New York**

The car was now waiting for the lights to change, and Alex had been wondering how far he would get if he got out of the car at that moment in time. Looking in the rear view mirror, he couldn't believe his luck – a police car had pulled up behind them, and so he could at least attempt to escape. Thankfully for Alex, he had not put on his seatbelt – and Jack hadn't noticed – so as he pushed open the door, he flung himself out of the car before getting to his feet and running into a nearby alleyway. Although he wasn't too sure of the geography of New York, he was confident that he knew the area better than Jack did.

Jack had tried to grab at Alex as he left the car, only for him to miss completely. Swearing under his breath, he climbed into the driver's seat and closed the door, only to notice a police officer walking towards the car. Quickly hiding the gun under the seat, he calmed himself down. The officer, a young man with short blond hair and brown eyes, approached the car and gazed at Jack.

"Hello, sir, I'm Officer Jones. Mind telling me what in the hell just happened?," the officer asked. He had seen a lot in his time as an NYPD officer, but this sort of thing just didn't happen that often.

"I'm sorry about that, he's my brother. We had a bit of an argument," Jack replied, looking at the officer and hoping that the lie would be accepted as the truth. Even without Alex, he could still get to Nina. Jones looked at him with suspicion, before using his flashlight to look around the interior of the car.

"An argument? Looks like he really wanted to get away from you, then," Jones commented, and Jack nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, he can be a bit dramatic at times. He'll be fine, officer, I'll call him in the morning and it'll be like this never happened, you know?," Jack spoke, and the officer seemed to accept what Jack was telling him.

"Fair enough. Have a safe night, sir," Jones replied, before walking back to his car. Driving off, Jack decided not to waste time finding Alex and found a place to park up. Dialling the number that the informant had called from, he decided that he would have to be more direct in dealing with Nina once and for all.

Alex had managed to get to a nearby apartment, and as he banged on the door, he wondered how much time he would have to get to Nina before Jack did. As a tired Cole Ortiz opened the door, he looked at Alex and groaned.

"What's going on?," Cole asked, his brown eyes weary and half-closed.

"I need to borrow a gun and your car, Cole. I'll explain in the morning," Alex asked, and Cole looked at him with curiosity.

"You just need a gun and my car in the middle of the night? Is it something to do with CTU?," Cole enquired.

"Yes, it is," Alex replied. Shrugging, Cole went back inside and came out a few minutes later with a car key and an handgun.

"I look forward to finding out about it tomorrow," Cole said as he handed the items to Alex.

Chloe was busy tracing Jack's journey through New York. A cab had taken him to the very part of New York where she lived, but had stopped outside the apartment building where Alex lived. She had tried to contact Alex, but he wasn't answering his cell.

"Kim, if Jack was angry at Alex, what would be the reason?," Chloe asked, and Kim tried hard to think of a possible cause of Jack's fury. She had only seen her father angry at Alex a few times, and there was only one constant.

"Oh my God, it's Nina," Kim replied, shocked, sure that it could only be because of Nina. In fact, it made perfect sense that her father would be so angry because of the woman who had killed her mother.

As he drove through the streets of New York, Alex was risking catching the attention of the police by speeding around corners and driving through red lights. Not that he cared, as his sister's life was at risk. Normally, he could understand Jack's fury at Nina, but this was all so pointless. It could have been kept quiet, but the damn informant had decided that it was so important that it didn't matter that two families could potentially be destroyed. Swerving around a corner, he tensed as he saw a police car coming in the opposite direction, but the cops passed without incident.

Officer Jones had just seen a car race around the corner, and he would usually have stopped the driver, but he was tired and close to the end of his shift. However, as the driver passed, he was sure that he recognised the man. Deciding to make a U-turn, he followed at a distance, hoping to get the license plate number.

Jack was looking at a map of Orange County. He had been given the address by the informant, and now he was minutes away from once and for all getting rid of Nina Myers. He was now calmer than he had been back at Alex's apartment, but his need for revenge was still controlling his actions.

**1.50am, informant's house, New York**

Sitting back in his plush armchair, the informant was now awaiting the inevitable. Soon, Nina Myers would be dead, and so free him from the possibility of Nina ever helping to bring him down for his past crimes. At one point, he had liked Nina, and worked well with her when she had been useful, but now she had renounced terrorism and was trying to live as a normal person did. Although she had shown no sign of going to the police or CTU and telling them all she knew – after all, as she was in the US illegally, that would have been stupid – he knew that she could use her knowledge to cut herself a deal. That, for him, was completely unacceptable.

**1.55am, Nina's house, Orange County**

As Alex parked in the same spot he had that afternoon, he looked over at Nina's house and was relieved to see that everything looked normal. Running towards the house, he noticed a cop car pull up nearby.

"I thought I recognised you, sir! Are you alright?," Jones asked as he approached Alex, who was confused until he realised that the cop was the same one who would have seen him jump out of the car.

"Yeah, I'm fine thanks, officer. I'm just going to spend the night at my sister's house," Alex explained as he stood close to the driveway of Nina's house. One of the lights upstairs flickered on, and Alex hoped that it was Nina.

"Your brother and you had an argument, right?," Jones asked, and Alex quickly realised what he was talking about.

"Yeah, we get like that sometimes. I suppose you saw my dramatic exit from the car, right?," Alex replied, and he could tell that someone was watching from one of the downstairs windows.

"Yeah, I did. Well, I'll leave you alone then, sir," Jones said, before walking back to his car. Turning towards the door, Alex saw a confused Nina standing in the doorway. Walking up to her, he gestured for her to go inside, before following quickly.

"Alex, what's going on?," Nina asked quietly as the pair moved into the living room.

"Nina, I'm so sorry, the informant who told me about you, he told Jack. He's in New York now, and I think he's heading here," Alex informed her. Sinking slowly onto a nearby chair, Nina couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Who is this informant, Alex? Tell me!," Nina asked, her voice shaking.

"I don't know his name, but I think he's somewhere in the area. Sounds like he smokes a lot. Nina, I think this guy has something against you, this is personal to him," Alex replied, and Nina sighed. She knew a lot of people who had something against her, and his being a smoker didn't really narrow it down a lot. Suddenly, someone appeared in the doorway, and it took a few seconds for Alex to recognise the man as Arlen Pavich.

"Nina, what's going on? Who is this?," Arlen asked as he turned on the light. His tired eyes gazed at Alex, who knew that he had to think quickly.

"Hello, Arlen, I'm Alex Clarke. Nina's brother," Alex spoke, and Arlen looked at him with confusion.

"Her brother? She never told me about any brother, but you do look a lot alike," Arlen replied, and he was about to ask another question when a car pulled up quickly outside. Rushing to the window, Alex saw Jack jump out of the car and he pulled out his gun, much to Arlen's shock.

"Why does he have a gun, Nina? What the hell is going on?," Arlen asked, before noticing that Jack was stood next to him, pointing a gun at him. Quickly, Nina ran behind the door so that she would be out of Jack's sight. As Jack pushed Arlen into the room, he held his gun at the man's neck. Noticing Alex, he glared at the agent.

"Where is she, Alex? Tell me or this man dies!," Jack spoke, his voice snarling and loud. Alex looked straight at Jack, wondering how he was going to resolve this without someone getting hurt. Then he realised that Jack had a weakness, something that had developed after his illness.

"Arlen, you're a doctor, right?," Alex asked, and Jack stared at him furiously, whilst Arlen looked at Alex as if he was mad.

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?," Arlen replied, unsure of what Alex was doing. Alex, on the other hand, knew exactly what he was doing, and hoped that he could play Jack's weakness against Arlen's strengths. Suddenly, Alex shot Jack's weakened right leg, sending him to his knees in pain. Knowing that Jack was injured, Nina came out of her hiding place and kicked him in the jaw, sending him crashing backwards. As Jack laid unconscious, Arlen looked at Nina then at Alex.

"So, what in the hell just happened?," Arlen asked, as Alex picked up Jack's gun.

"This man is Jack Bauer, ex-boyfriend of Nina's. He's got a grudge against her, and as you saw tonight, he's willing to kill to get revenge," Alex explained, and it was all truthful. Nodding, Arlen went fro a medical kit to treat Jack's gunshot wound, which had woken up the four Pavich children. The oldest, Joseph, had come down and Nina was now trying to explain that they had caught a burglar.

"Joseph, it's all fine now. We're going to call the police and he'll be gone soon," Nina assured her concerned son, who was about to go back to bed when he noticed Alex.

"Who are you?," Joseph asked, looking at Alex with curiosity.

"He's your Uncle Alex, Joseph. I'll explain everything in the morning, OK?," Nina told him. Satisfied with the answer, he nodded before leaving the room. Nina then walked over to Alex and embraced him.

"What am I going to do, Alex? He knows where I live and everything," Nina whispered.

"We'll sort something out, Nina. I'll take Jack back to my apartment or something, keep him there until he calms down, OK?," Alex replied as Arlen got to work treating the wound.

**2.15am, Alex's apartment, New York**

Chloe and Morris had no idea what had happened when they got to Alex's apartment and found the door smashed in. Taking out her CTU handgun, Chloe slowly moved inside, with Morris following her.

"Alex?," Chloe spoke with concern. This was all to do with Nina Myers, and now that Alex had mysteriously disappeared, she hoped that Jack wasn't going to do anything stupid. As they searched around, they found no one inside, until a man appeared at the front door.

"You looking for the young man who lives here?," the man, who was elderly, with thinning white hair and kindly hazel eyes. Chloe nodded, before explaining that she was a federal agent.

"My name's William Berkeley, and I live next door. About a hour ago there was quite a commotion. Someone kicked in the door, and I could hear shouting coming from inside, although it was only one person who I could hear. Few minutes later, a man I didn't recognise came out of the apartment holding a gun, followed by your friend. The other guy, he was about the same height, not much hair, looked very tired but also angry," William explained.

**2.20am, Nina's house, Orange County**

As Arlen and Alex placed a now tied up Jack in the trunk of Cole's car, Alex explained what he was going to do. As far as Arlen knew, Alex was going to keep him tied up until he calmed down and would try to convince him to stay away from Nina.

"Do what you want with him, Alex, but keep him away from me and my family," Arlen spoke as Alex climbed into the car.

"I can assure you that he will," Alex replied, although he knew that he would have great difficulty keeping Jack Bauer away from Nina Myers. He had known of Nina's escape since it had happened, but it had been kept a secret from Jack and CTU for years, and Alex realised that it was probably a mistake to have kept it from Jack for so long. After all, he was sure that Jack would not be anywhere near as angry as he was if he had been aware of the escape.

**2.35am, CTU New York**

Chloe, Morris, Cole and Hastings had all arrived at CTU, and all were trying to piece together what was happening. Cole had told them of Alex visiting him, and confirmed that it had something to do with CTU, whilst Hastings was hesitant to connect the events to Alex's decision regarding the Nina intel. However, he was beginning to believe that Alex had misled him and that the woman really had been his sister.

"I've just been on the phone to NYPD, and there was a strange incident earlier, involving a man jumping out of the driver's side of a car and running off. The passenger said it was his brother, but the license plates match those on Alex's car. The descriptions of the two men match Alex and Jack. The same officer who saw them saw Alex later on at a house in the suburbs, claiming that he was spending the night with his sister," Chloe informed the group, and Hastings knew that he had to say something.

"Yesterday afternoon, Alex got some intelligence that suggested that Nina Myers was living somewhere nearby. I agreed to keep it quiet so that Jack Bauer wouldn't find out, and when he came back he told me that it wasn't Nina Myers. I decided that he was telling the truth and thought nothing more about it. I think we need to find the source of that information, because they know more than we do," Hastings spoke, hoping that the loop wouldn't get too big.

**2.40am, Alex's apartment, New York**

Alex had managed to guide a disorientated and bound Jack up to his apartment, and allowed the older man to fall onto the floor near to a radiator. Binding him to the radiator with a wire, he placed a cloth gag into Jack's mouth, before slumping down onto the couch. Looking at Jack, he wondered what he was going to do to sort out the problem. If he was to go after the informant, he wouldn't be able to just leave Jack tied up in his apartment, especially as it seemed as if someone had come in after they had left earlier. Suddenly, Jack woke up and Alex watched as Jack angrily tried to free himself.

"I'll remove the gag if you keep quiet," Alex told him, and Jack nodded, and as he did, Alex wondered just who was in control of the whole situation. Kneeling down next to Jack, he was looking down slightly at him.

"You shot me, you son of a bitch!," Jack spoke, his voice low and angry.

"I had no choice, Jack," Alex replied, staring at Jack and unsure of what he was supposed to do now.

"You could have let me kill her, Alex, you could have ended all of this," Jack replied, and Alex could see and hear the bitterness that Jack was feeling.

"No, Jack, I couldn't. She's a parent like you, and she's not been involved in terrorism for years. If my informant hadn't told you about her, you would never have known," Alex told him.

"You knew about her escape from North Africa, and never told me? Just like you knew about her new life and planned never to tell me?," Jack asked, and the look of betrayal in his eyes was intense.

"Only to protect you and Kim, Jack. If she had become a threat to you, then I would have told you," Alex spoke, but Jack didn't seem to be listening any more. Placing the gag gently back in Jack's mouth, before standing back up, he looked down at him.

"I'm going to CTU, and I'm going to find this informant, Jack. You can try and escape, but Nina has a gun and we both know she won't hesitate to use it," Alex informed him, before heading out of the apartment.

**2.50am, Nina's house, Orange County**

Although Arlen and the children had gone back to sleep, Nina was wide awake and sat the the end of the bed, clutching Alex's CTU gun, which he had given her for protection. The events of the past few hours had spooked her, and for the first time in years she was holding a gun. Although she knew it was to protect her and her family from a vengeful Jack, she didn't want to be holding a gun – to her, it symbolised her most evil actions and the darkest part of her that had enabled her to commit such crimes. Tonight had been the closest Arlen had come to finding out about her past, and she knew that if he found out who she really was, he would leave her and she would never see her family again. Sighing as she checked the clock, she wanted to go out of the house, take the danger away from her family, but she knew that if Jack managed to escape from Alex, then he would head straight for the house, and Nina could only imagine what he would do to Arlen.

**3.00am, CTU New York**

As Alex entered the building, he was met by a curious group who wanted to know exactly what was happening.

"Nina's OK, but Jack is still angry. He's at my apartment, and he's staying there until he calms down. Look, we need to find this informant of mine and then we need to figure out how we can work out this problem," Alex spoke to the small number of agents who were present.

"You do realise that Nina is a fugitive, right?," Cole asked. He knew little of the situation or of the history between Jack and Nina, so was trying to be a neutral in the whole mess.

"Yes, I do, but she's got a family, children. She's not who she used to be, and I think the person who gave me the information wants to see her in prison or dead," Alex replied.

"Cole, I want you to go to Alex's apartment and bring Jack in," Hastings spoke, and Alex looked at him shocked.

"With all due respect Mr Hastings, I would rather keep him there, where he has no access to weapons and can't hurt anyone. He's in a very dark place right now," Alex replied, but Hastings shook his head.

"I'm still going to bring him in. We can put him in an holding room for now, Alex," Hastings said, and Alex knew that it was useless to argue, especially as he needed CTU cooperation to help find the informant. As the group dispersed, Alex sighed before making his way to his workstation. He wanted to get the bastard who had caused all of this and wanted nothing more than to see him behind bars.

**3.20am, Alex's apartment, New York**

Jack was sleepy, although he was fighting to stay awake. His hands were numb from being tied together, and the gag was making it hard to breathe. The apartment was dark, and Jack could barely see anything, especially as it was quite high up in the block, and therefore little light came in through the windows apart from the occasional sliver of moonlight. He had given up trying to free himself, and was waiting for Alex to come back, although he was worried that Nina would come and finish him off in order to prevent him from exacting his revenge. Although still angry, he began to wonder if Alex had done the right thing in keeping Nina's escape and eventual location secret. He had been given a second chance at life, and now Nina had been thrown back in there to mess everything up. A creak from the direction of the front door caught his attention, and Jack waited apprehensively to see who it was.

**3.25am, CTU New York**

Alex had been asked by Hastings to look through a list of everyone who had connections to Nina that could have a reason for wanting revenge on her, and he knew that Hastings had no idea just how long that list was going to be. He was also looking occasionally at the main entrance of CTU, through which Jack would be brought at any moment. Although the whole mess was certainly not what he had wanted, he wondered if it really was preferable to just letting Jack know where Nina was. He could have called Jack, gave him the address and let the man have his vengeance, but he knew that Nina had a family, and was no terrorist any more. Suddenly, an annoyed Hastings walked up to Alex's station.

"This is no time to be playing games, Alex. Where is he?," Hastings demanded, and Alex didn't know what to think.

"Was he not there? Mr Director, when I left my apartment Jack was secured to a radiator," Alex replied, and he wondered if it was necessary to warn Nina.

"No sign of him, according to Ortiz!," Hastings shouted, and Alex didn't have any idea how to respond.


	3. Big Apples and Small Oranges

_**A/N – That last chapter has to be the longest single chapter of fanfiction I've written yet. Also, "Arlen Pavich" is the name of a character that Xander Berkeley played in North Country, and Arlen in this fanfic is "played" by Xander.**_

**3.40am, informant's house, New York**

As Jack was woken up by the two men who had taken him from Alex's apartment, it took him a while to realise that he was no longer tied to the radiator. Now, he was in a well-lit room, with handcuffs on his wrists, which were attached by a chain to a steel ring high up on the wall next to him. When the two men left him alone, Jack wondered for a moment what was going on, until a third man entered the room. He was overweight, with an untidy dark stubble, deep set brown eyes and balding ginger hair. His skin was pockmarked, and in his mouth was a big Cuban cigar.

"It's an honour to meet you in person, Jack Bauer," the man croaked, and Jack recognised the voice. It was the same man who had helped him find Nina, but Jack felt no gratitude towards him.

"Who are you and why is it so important to you that I avenge my wife's death?," Jack asked, his voice hoarse. His captor looked at him intently, before taking a puff of his cigar.

"I'm not at all interested in your vengeance, Bauer. My interests simply require the same outcome, and that is the death of our mutual friend Nina Myers," he replied, and Jack looked at the man in disgust. It was obvious that the man saw people as nothing more than commodities, to be used up and disposed of once they had outlived their usefulness.

"As for your first question, I'm not going to give you my name. You may refer to me as Mr Howard, which isn't my surname at all, by the way," Howard spoke again, before turning and leaving the room.

**3.50am, CTU New York**

Alex was now in a holding room. Hastings was convinced that he knew where Jack Bauer was, and until it could proven otherwise, he had taken Alex into custody. Sat in a chair, his wrists handcuffed, he was alone in the room and could only imagine what was going on outside the room. He had no idea where Jack was, no idea of whether Nina was OK, and he had no idea if CTU were even anyone near finding the informant. The door opened and in came Cole, who stood close to Alex.

"I believe you when you say that you don't know where Jack is. I've talked to Hastings, and I think he might come round to believing you soon," Cole spoke. Whilst he knew a lot about Jack Bauer, he knew little of Alex, but had reasoned that anyone who had worked with Jack for so long that hadn't betrayed him or died was someone worth listening to, a person you would prefer to have on your side.

"Have you sent any agents to watch Nina's house? If he's escaped, that's the first place he would have gone," Alex replied, his voice tired.

"We have, and they've seen no sign of Jack," Cole informed him, and Alex couldn't understand why Jack would have escaped but not gone to kill Nina. Then he realised.

"I think the informant has him. Look, if you find him, you'll find Jack," Alex spoke.

**4.05am, Howard's house, New York**

Jack had been released from his restraints, and was now stood in an office, where he had been told to wait for Mr Howard and, as the informant walked into the room, Jack looked at him. He could tell that the man was probably in his fifties or sixties, and noticed a huge scar on one side of his face.

"Mr Bauer, I have a deal to offer you," Howard spoke as he sat down at his desk. Looking at him sceptically, Jack wondered why he didn't just let him go. Do that, and Nina would be dead within the hour.

"You have a deal to offer to me? Why not just let me go, and we'll both get what we want," Jack replied, but Howard shook his head dismissively.

"If we were to do that, Jack, you would only be convicted of murder and sent to jail for the rest of your life. My deal would make that an impossibility. Bring me Nina Myers, and you may kill her here, and my men will remove all evidence of her ever being in the city. She'll remain a missing person, and the only evidence they'll have against you would be circumstantial," Howard informed him.

"Fine, I suppose you'll want me to go straight away?," Jack asked, and Howard simply nodded and gestured towards the door. Walking towards the door, with a slight limp due to the wound in his leg, Jack could only think of possible connections between Howard and Nina. It was obvious to him that Nina knew something about Howard that threatened him.

**4.10am, CTU New York**

Alex had been released from the holding room, after Chloe had managed to find camera footage of a pair of masked men carrying Jack out of the apartment block. CTU were certain that the men were working for the informant, and now all they could do was monitor the Pavich household for any sign of Jack or the informant. The two CTU agents sat in a car close to the house had seen no sign of anyone entering or leaving, and Alex was anxious to make sure that no one had to die. Deciding that he couldn't just sit around and wait for what he knew could be imminent, Alex began to walk towards the exit.

"Alex? Where are you going?," Chloe asked as he walked past her.

"I'm going to Nina's house, I can't stay here," Alex replied, not bothering to stop or turn around as he did. He had no idea how close Jack was to the house.

**4.15am, van, New York **

Jack was in the van along with two of Howard's men. He had been given a gun and a balaclava, and told not to speak whilst inside the house, and to take Nina out of there as quickly and quietly as possible. Even though Jack wanted to see Nina dead, he was starting to feel uneasy about working with these people. His need for revenge was deep, it was an urge that even he couldn't truly comprehend – sometimes he even scared himself with the level of hatred that he felt towards Nina.

**4.20am, car, New York**

Alex had taken a gun from the armoury, and a CTU SUV from the parking lot, and was now back to speeding around the streets of New York, where the day was breaking and the streets were beginning to fill up with people and vehicles again. He wondered if all this effort would be futile – after all, Nina was a fugitive and even if she survived Jack and the informant, she would still be going to jail. The informant had dragged Jack back into the insane world that he had been trying to leave behind, and put Nina and her family into harm's way. Not knowing where Jack was made it worse, and Alex could only hope that the two CTU agents at the house would be able to keep him away from Nina long enough for him to get there, and a dark thought came into his head. What if he had to kill Jack in order to protect Nina? He had never contemplated any such idea when Nina had been Nina the terrorist and not Nina the mother of four children, and hoped that he would not have to make any such decision.

**4.30am, CTU New York**

As Hastings emerged from his office, he looked around and noticed that Alex was nowhere to be seen, and walked up to Chloe's station.

"Where's Alex Myers?," Hastings asked, and Chloe didn't think it would be useful to make something up.

"He's gone to Nina's house, Mr Hastings," Chloe replied. She had seen Jack take revenge before, when he had shot dead the man who was responsible for the deaths of Tony, Michelle and President Palmer, and had been shocked by the action, but Alex had not seemed shocked at all by it. She could only wonder what exactly went on at CTU before she started working there.

"What for? We already have two agents there!," Hastings demanded. He had not worked at CTU before the reinstatement by President Taylor – he was an FBI agent previously – and so did not know anything of the history between Jack Bauer and Nina Myers.

**4.35am, Nina's house, New York**

Parking around the back, Alex climbed over the back fence and crept towards the back door, and knocked a few times. It took someone a few minutes to respond, and as Nina opened the door, she was relieved to see Alex.

"Jack wouldn't knock on the door," Nina explained as Alex walked into the house.

"Your informant managed to kidnap Jack from my apartment, Nina, and I think he's on his way here," Alex informed her as she sat at the kitchen table. She looked up at him and sighed heavily.

"He's not giving up, is he?," Nina replied. She knew deep down that she deserved to face the consequences of her actions, but she also knew that she now had a family, and simply wanted to live in peace. Her actions would always follow her, and many ghosts still haunted her, but she didn't think that she deserved redemption less than Jack did.

"There's two CTU agents parked outside the front of the house, there's no way he'll be able to get to you. He'll probably be able to help us find the informant," Alex spoke. Suddenly, a loud bang could be heard from the front of the house, and both Alex and Nina prepared themselves to see Jack walk into the room and when he did, he glared at Nina. As he walked into the room, Howard's men followed soon behind and stood near the door as if waiting for Jack to seize Nina.

"Hello, Nina," Jack spoke as he moved towards her, but Alex stood in front of her much to Jack's annoyance.

"This was always going to happen, Alex, keep out of it," Jack growled, but Alex didn't move. Looking at Jack then at the two masked men before returning his attention to Jack, he hoped that the two men would not be much of a threat.

"Who is the informant, Jack?," Alex asked him.

"He didn't give me much of an identity, he just asked me to call him Mr Howard," Jack replied, much to Nina's shock. Standing up, she walked around Alex and looked at Jack.

"Howard? Jack, I don't think you want to be working with him," Nina spoke, but Jack just scoffed.

"Of course you would think that, Nina, he wants you dead!," Jack replied, and he moved forwards quickly in an attempt to grab Nina's arm, but she moved back before he could reach her.

"Jack, he was the man I first worked for, and the order to eliminate anyone who could tie me to Germany, it came from him. He had a lot to do with Teri's death," Nina spoke quietly, and a shocked Jack looked at her in disbelief, before turning around and shooting dead Howard's men with two clean shots to their hearts.

"You better not be messing around with me here, Nina," Jack told her, before walking up to the two corpses and removing the balaclaves from their heads. Chucking the items to Alex and Nina before taking the two guns, he began to drag one of the men out of the house.

"We'll put these two in the back of the van we came here in. We'll go to CTU and then work out a plan there. You'll need to use those when we get to Howard's base," Jack explained as Alex began dragging the second man. The guns that Jack and the men were using were silenced, so no one would have heard the gunshots, but Alex was still confused.

"Jack, how did you get past the two CTU agents outside?," Alex asked. The two were parked quite close to the house and would have noticed anyone approach it, especially if they were armed and wearing balaclavas.

"They left the windows down far enough for us to knock them out with tranq guns. They'll wake up in half a hour unharmed," Jack replied, and Nina couldn't help but remember the time that Jack had done the exact same thing to George Mason. She had feigned shock and concern, but deep down had found it hilarious. That time had been early on the day she had been arrested and the whole façade had crashed down.

**4.50am, Howard's house, New York**

Howard was in his office still, waiting for news from Jack Bauer. He was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Nina Myers, and had decided to give Jack the honour of killing her, and Howard could give him a lot of ways in which he could do it. Stubbing out a cigar, he looked at the photograph on his desk. It showed Nina and her family enjoying a holiday in Vermont, and Howard had been amused at it when he was first sent it. It was the first piece of evidence he had that Nina Myers was back in the United States, and it showed a different Nina to the one he had dealt with – a carefree, relaxed Nina.

**4.55am, CTU SUV, New York**

With the two bodies placed in the van parked near the front of the house, the trio were now heading for CTU. Nina was sat in the front passenger seat next to Alex, whilst Jack was sat in the back, unwilling to have Nina sitting behind him. They exchanged glances at each other through the rear view mirror, but neither wanted to address the obvious problem that they were facing. Alex was just relieved that they were able to sit together in the same vehicle without all hell breaking loose. The fact that Jack had turned on Howard's men so quickly seemed to be a good sign, that Jack had decided that Nina would be nothing compared to some terrorist boss who was ultimately responsible for Teri's murder.

"I still remember what you said, Jack, about the Sunday before. I'll never forget those words," Nina said, looking straight at him through the mirror. Jack looked at her face expecting to see her mocking him, but she appeared sincere, and he could only assume that she was telling the truth.

"You never apologised for killing my wife, Nina," Jack replied, in a voice uncharacteristically calmer and less angry than it usually was when he was talking to her.

"I am sorry, Jack, and I always will be," Nina spoke, as they drove up to the main entrance of CTU. As they walked into the building, Nina looked around, impressed.

"Wow, this is CTU nowadays?," she commented, only to notice a blonde woman staring at her in disbelief, and suddenly she grew very uncomfortable.

"Dad? Why is she here?," a tired Kim asked, unable to look away from Nina, who was looking at Jack, before deciding to look at Kim once more.

"Kim, I've been living in New York for some years now. I have a family of my own, and I'm not involved in terrorism anymore. I will always regret killing your mother," Nina spoke, but it seemed to have no effect on Kim, who began to walk away. As she walked into an empty room, Jack followed close behind.

"Sweetheart, let me explain. Someone called me yesterday and told me about Nina, and at first I was furious and I wanted to kill her, but I don't think I could do that now," Jack spoke, his voice quiet. Looking at her father, Kim couldn't believe what he was saying.

"So why bring her into CTU? Are they going to arrest her?," Kim asked, already tired from the last minute flight from Los Angeles.

"I don't know if they will or not, Kim, but if they don't, can you accept the fact that she's living in this country freely?," Jack asked, looking straight into his daughter's eyes and hoping that she could at least consider it. He knew what Nina had done, and he knew how it had affected Kim in so many ways on so many levels, but if he could find redemption and have a happy life, surely that could mean that Nina was allowed a second chance?

"I don't know, Dad. I just don't want her to get away with what she did to us," Kim spoke, her voice trembling and quiet.

Back in the main area of CTU, Nina was being questioned by Hastings, who Alex hoped would allow Nina to go after all this was over. As for Alex himself, he was watching Nina and Hastings from a distance, unable to hear what they were saying but able to tell how the conversation was going.

"Can you prove that you have no more links to terrorism, Nina? I can't just let you out of here without knowing for sure that I'm not releasing you and allowing you to harm people," Hastings asked her.

"I have a family, a steady part-time job, and I've not even talked to a terrorist for a long time, Mr Hastings. Alls I ask is that I can get on with my life, and if you ever get any evidence that I am still involved in terrorism, you can bring me back here," Nina replied. She knew that she didn't really deserve this second chance that she had worked quite hard for – getting out of the terrorist business was far more difficult than getting in – but if even Jack Bauer could accept her new life, then it was looking good for her.

"I believe that Jack Bauer wants you to help bring down this Howard guy. Afterwards, I'll release you, but CTU will keep a close eye on you, Nina," Hastings informed her, and Nina nodded. She was quite happy with being monitored by CTU – it would make it easier to both prove that she had left behind her life of terrorism and help Jack accept that she was being given another chance. It also meant a certain level of protection from any ghost from her past that might emerge from the shadows.

As Jack came back out, he walked over to Alex and watched as Hastings spoke to Nina.

"It's going to take a while for Kim to accept this," Jack spoke. She had agreed to at least try and accept it, but Jack knew that she had been through so much because of Nina that it would take a long time.

"I kept it away from you because I didn't want all this to happen. You and Kim would never have known, but at least you'll be able to take down this Mr Howard," Alex replied.

"Do you believe she has changed Alex?," Jack asked.

"I truly think she has," Alex replied.


End file.
